Many people simply can’t function without their daily dose of coffee. How can you cut back or quit altogether without resembling the walking dead?

Many of us wake up with one thing on our mind: where to get that first cup of java. These caffeine zombies don’t stagger outside moaning for braaaaains, they’re looking for coffffeeeee.

According to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, between 80 percent and 90 percent of all American adults consume caffeine, primarily from coffee.

But how does caffeine do the trick? Caffeine is a naturally occurring stimulant found in coffee, tea leaves and cocoa beans, among other plants. It is able to fight off fatigue because it prevents the brain from processing adenosine, a chemical that bonds to receptors and causes drowsiness.

The body can become physically dependent on caffeine after low doses — as low as 100 milligrams a day, according to National Geographic. Caffeine also increases levels of dopamine, a chemical that regulates pleasure in the brain. When caffeine’s effects wear off, the brain begins sending signals (in the form of fatigue and feeling of depression) that it needs more caffeine. This is how the physical cycle of dependence begins with caffeine and many other drugs.

But for all its rejuvenating and focusing power, caffeine can cause damage. Consuming too much can result in mood swings and sleeping problems. More than 600 milligrams of caffeine, or about four cups of coffee, per day is considered a high dose and can result in health and well-being problems. The Mayo Clinic explains that this level of intake can cause a broad range of physical effects, such as:

• Insomnia;
• Nervousness;
• Restlessness;
• Irritability;
• Upset stomach;
• Fast heartbeat; and
• Muscle tremors.

Additionally, some people are more susceptible to caffeine’s effects, and combining caffeine with certain medications and supplements can amplify unwanted side effects.

Finally, there is the little fact that coffee costs money. The cost of buying one cup of coffee every work day equals $360 per year, and that increases exponentially if you’re buying espresso-based drinks or gourmet coffee, according to figures from the National Coffee Association (via Yahoo! Finance).

So, how do you break your caffeine addiction without becoming a zombie?

The hard truth is that you will have to use some good, old-fashioned willpower. You will need to prepare for a period when you might find yourself more sluggish than usual, and you’ll have to brace for headaches. However, be sure to check the bottle on your headache medicine, as many pills contain caffeine.

LiveStrong recommends adopting a weaning process, slowly decreasing your caffeine intake over several weeks until you can quit. You can also provide your brain a placebo by consuming decaffeinated coffees and sodas, or by drinking tea. For example, while green tea contains caffeine, it has significantly less than coffee and soda.

Blogger Robin Barooah at Quantified Self reveals his personal strategy for beating the coffee habit:

I made the same amount of coffee each day, using a vac-pot. Although I didn’t measure caffeine content, I did control many factors including grind, age of beans, water temperature and water/coffee contact time. From this controlled pot of coffee, I used measuring cups to discard an additional 20ml per week.

Barooah was able to quit over a five-month period and posted a graph revealing his new-found productivity and focus.

Or you can take an unfortunate situation and use it to beat your addiction. Henrik Edberg, an author of various productivity and positivity guides, had been looking for an opportunity to quit caffeine when he developed a bad cold. Knowing he wouldn’t be doing much of anything for several days, he stopped drinking coffee. When the cold passed, he found he didn’t miss coffee at all. “It has become easier to focus…I’m less prone to procrastination,” he writes at The Positivity Blog.

Related

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Resources

Caffeine Addiction Is a Mental Disorder, Doctors Say
by George Studeville
National Geographic Magazine, Jan. 19, 2005

Information about Caffeine Dependence
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center

Transparency: How much Water Do You Use?
GOOD, March 17, 2009

How I Quit Drinking Coffee and the Benefits I’ve Experienced
by Henrik Edberg
The Positivity Blog, Dec. 3, 2007

Tips on Quitting Caffeine
by Shemiah Williams
Livestrong.com, April 21, 2011

The False God of Coffee
by Robin Barooah
Quantified Self, Oct. 29, 2009

How Caffeine Works
by Marshall Brain, Charles W. Bryant and Matt Cunningham
How Stuff Works

Top 10 Money Drains
Yahoo! Finance, Aug. 16, 2007